


Hearts in Full Bloom

by psyraah



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining Shiro (Voltron), Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 02:14:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14392095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/psyraah/pseuds/psyraah
Summary: Eight months ago, Shiro met Keith. Life hasn't been the same since.It was all just part of the routine. Every morning they’d get their coffee, Keith making his way to the shop after opening up his store, Shiro doing the same on his way going from where he parked his car to his office building. Every morning, Shiro would walk Keith back to work, enjoying the gentle conversation or the comfortable silences. They’d pass by the shopping centre, as they did now, and joke about the high fashion on display in the windows. They’d cross the street, one of them tossing a few coins to a busker on occasion, which is what Keith did this morning.And just as routine as everything they did was the steady beating of Shiro’s heart, and his hopeless crush making him laugh a little brighter and smile a little wider at everything that Keith did.(Or the one where I throw all the fluffy tropes in a bucket and see what falls out.)





	Hearts in Full Bloom

**Author's Note:**

> Why yes, I DID put every single fluffy trope in here. 
> 
> A Sheithlentines pinch hit for Nessie - I'm SO sorry it took so long. Work went absolutely bananas, leaving me little time for anything other than sleep when I got home. I hope you enjoy, I tried to incorporate as many things from your wishlist as I could :)

Eight months ago, Shiro would have dreaded Monday mornings. It wasn’t that he hated his job; it was enjoyable enough, and the people who he spent most of his day with were lovely, and close enough to even call friends. But work was still work, and he would’ve preferred not to get up at seven in the morning, if it was all the same to you.

But this Monday morning, Shiro hurried down the sidewalk, glancing nervously at his watch as his messenger bag bounced against his leg with every swift step.

His heart was just on the faster side of average, and the closer he got to his destination, the more his lips started to tug upwards. He tried to smooth down the expression—literally, covering his mouth with one hand to fight the twitching of his muscles—but from experience, he knew that it was pretty much useless. The strangers accompanying him in the morning rush to work would just have to live with him, smiling at nothing as he strode down the sidewalk.

Eight months ago, the sight of the café Shiro went to every morning would have simply lifted the Monday morning sleepy brain fog. Now, seeing the pale blue sign and white décor of Altean Coffee House had his heart skipping.

He took a steadying breath before he pushed inside, trying to look casual as he scanned the tiny space. Felt his heart come to a complete stop when he spotted who he was looking for.

But it was all right. The breath would come back to his lungs, the world would start moving again after that first, initial jolt. Shiro knew this from experience, because for the past eight months, he’d had the exact same thing happen every time he set eyes on Keith.

The door swung closed behind him, and Shiro tried to calm the light pattering of his heart as he approached the bench where Keith waited, oblivious to Shiro’s presence as he scrolled through his phone. He was in his usual work tee, tight and black, and his hair was caught up in a messy ponytail. Work mode, Shiro knew, because on the rare occasion he’d run into Keith after work, his dark hair had spilled carelessly over his shoulders instead.

Sliding into the chair next to Keith, Shiro got to witness the blooming of Keith’s smile when he looked up.

“Hey, Shiro.”

“Hi, Keith.” Shiro tried not to smile too hard. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Keith just waved his apology off; they’d had their morning routine long enough to have lost count of who kept who waiting every time. “Don’t worry about it. I got your order.”

Shiro smiled warmly, even though that, too, was part of their routine. “Thanks.”

Their conversation devolved into the usual: how was the weekend, plans for the day, how work was. Keith’s flower shop that he ran with his friend Hunk was busier than usual, Shiro learned. “Mother’s Day,” Keith explained, and Shiro made a sympathetic noise just as their order number was called out. Their arms brushed lightly as they navigated their way through the cramped space, and Shiro tried not to stare too hard at Keith’s bare forearms.

Nothing new. Nothing unusual. It was all just part of the routine. Every morning they’d get their coffee, Keith making his way to the shop after opening up his store, Shiro doing the same on his way going from where he parked his car to his office building. Every morning, Shiro would walk Keith back to work, enjoying the gentle conversation or the comfortable silences. They’d pass by the shopping centre, as they did now, and joke about the high fashion on display in the windows. They’d cross the street, one of them tossing a few coins to a busker on occasion, which is what Keith did this morning.

And just as routine as everything they did was the steady beating of Shiro’s heart, and his hopeless crush making him laugh a little brighter and smile a little wider at everything that Keith did.

“Will you be all right with the big Mother’s Day rush?” Shiro asked, sipping on his coffee.

Keith sighed, and his little frown worried Shiro a little. “It should be okay. Hunk’s going away for the week—family wedding—so it’ll just be me, so I’m not sure…”

Shiro laid a hand on Keith’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m sure you’ll be fine. But if you need anything, just let me know.”

It warmed Shiro’s heart just so—like the first sip of warm soup on a chilly winter night—to see Keith’s grateful smile.

“Thanks, Shiro,” he said, oblivious to how starry-eyed Shiro knew he was getting. “I appreciate it.”

Reluctantly, Shiro withdrew his hand from where it rested on Keith’s shoulder. _Warm._ “It’s not trouble. And I mean it. Even if you just need me to fetch lunch for you some time.”

Keith laughed, his footsteps scattering some leaves on the ground. “You think I should drag you out of your nice office building to have you play delivery boy?”

 _I’d do far more to give you far less_.

Shiro put on his most goofy smile. “Can’t think of a better way to spend my lunch break.”

Keith smiled to himself, and turned his attention back to his drink. “I might take you up on that some time. But not for your delivery—lunch together…would be nice.”

The rest of the walk went by in a blur, Shiro repeating the words in his head too much to truly pay attention. And after all, it was routine: walk one block east, two north, cross the road and walk past a gaggle of school children in a wave of noise. And all too soon, make it to the little corner where Keith’s flower shop sat, bright greens and yellows against the grey of the pavement.

Routine to shuffle his coffee to one hand, and envelope Keith in a hug.

Routine, to revel in the way that Keith squeezed back. “Enjoy your day,” Keith said.

“I will,” Shiro replied, even though he knew the best part of it was already over. “You too.”

Routine to draw away while wishing he could hold on, routine to watch Keith duck inside the store front with a smile and a wave.

All of it part of Shiro’s morning, every day for eight months. All of it a blessing, a joy.

And yet…sometimes—most of the time—he wished he could just change one small detail of what had been the same for months.

Wished he could slip his hand through Keith’s, and hold on tight.

With a sigh, Shiro gave one last wave through the glass, and headed off.

* * *

A few days later, an odd thing happened. When Shiro stepped into the cafe, anticipation high in this throat, Keith wasn’t there.

Which wasn’t unusual; Shiro was occasionally the earlier one. Except after another twenty minutes, there was still no Keith.

And that had Shiro worried, his coffee cooling slowly in his cup. It was silly; after all, Keith didn’t owe Shiro a meeting. But on the rare occasion that they’d been unable to meet up, they’d always managed to give each other a head’s up a day or two earlier.

Gnawing on his lip, Shiro gathered his drink and the one he’d bought for Keith, and slipped outside.

The wind was chilly in the early morning, and Shiro regretted not bringing his gloves. The coffee cups in his hands were comforting though, but nothing stopped the sinking feeling in his stomach that something had happened to Keith. He knew Keith had been tired the past few days, with Hunk gone and Mother’s Day just around the corner. He’d seen Keith get progressively more pale and worn; what if something had happened? What if he’d collapsed in the shop, with no one any the wiser?

Walking briskly, Shiro made the distance to the florist in record time. Rounding the corner, he breathed a sigh of relief to see the lights on, the display racks out, and the sign on the door flipped to “Open”.

The bell tinkled merrily when he pushed inside, and Shiro was greeted by bright displays and gentle music.

Out the back, Shiro heard a distant voice call, “I’ll be right there!” And at that, Shiro’s heart settled; Keith was all right.

Shiro approached the counter, setting his drinks down on it. While he waited, he glanced around the shop. He hadn’t visited in a little while, and the décor had changed a little; when he’d first seen it, it had still been a work in progress, Keith and Hunk only just having started up. Now, quite a few months later, it looked sleek and organised. The muted lighting and wooden furniture gave the whole shop a mystical air, soft yellows drifting through green leaves and bright blooms.

Hurried footsteps announced Keith’s entrance, and when he stepped out, Shiro thought the lights made him look gorgeous.

Except on closer inspection, he also looked bone tired, and Shiro found his earlier anxiety returning.

“Hi, sorry, how can I—” Keith stopped abruptly, blinking at Shiro. “Shiro? What are you—oh my god, I stood you up.” To Shiro’s alarm, Keith collapsed on the counter, burying his face in his hands, groaning.

Shiro hurried to reassure him. “Hey, no, no, it’s okay. I’m not offended or anything.”

“Shiro, I’m _so_ sorry.”

“Keith, it’s seriously all right.”

“I promise, I was thinking about it, but I had ten orders to get through to prepare for tomorrow—”

“It’s fine, I get work can get busy—”

“And I know I won’t get time tomorrow because it’s Mother’s Day in two days and it’s gonna be hell—”

“Keith, it’s _fine_ ,” Shiro insisted.

Keith finally looked up, and even though he looked pale and heavily sleep-deprived, his crooked smile had Shiro’s heart fluttering. “I really am sorry.”

“You don’t have to be, but apology accepted.” Shiro nudged Keith’s cup across the counter. “I thought you might want this.”

Keith’s eyes lit up, and he cradled the drink in his hands, expression soft as he met Shiro’s eyes. “You’re a god send. Thank you, I needed this.”

“You’re welcome.” _I’d do so much more than get you a coffee to make you look like that_.

“You didn’t have to.” Keith stepped around the counter to stand next to Shiro, and have their arms brushing lightly together.

“I wanted to. You look—you seem…tired,” Shiro put delicately.

Keith snorted, sipping his coffee. “You don’t have to be polite. I know I look like hell right now.”

“You look great,” Shiro blurted, before he could stop himself.

Keith glanced up at him before smiling tentatively, ducking his head again to focus on his drink. “Um. Right.”

“Is there no one around to help you?” Shiro asked, desperate to turn the conversation away from his fumble.

Keith shook his head. “We haven’t gotten around to hiring anyone yet. The two of us have always been enough, but with Hunk gone and things ramping up it’s a bit…much. We knew it would happen, but he had to go. It was just really bad timing.”

“I’m sorry,” Shiro said quietly. “Seriously, Keith, if there’s anything at all…”

“This is good.” Keith cleared his throat, staring resolutely ahead. “I—seeing you makes me happy.”

Shiro’s breath caught in his throat, and he tried to bite down a smile unsuccessfully. Not because he didn’t want to seem happy, but because the expression might have been a little _too_ manic. He couldn’t help it, not with how full his heart felt, but when Keith was smiling so shyly, it didn’t feel appropriate.

Oh well. He’d already lost all dignity when it came to Keith anyway. “I, um. I’m glad.” He sipped his drink in an attempt to calm down. “I—I should be getting back though.”

Keith glanced up at the wall clock. “Right. I don’t wanna make you late, I guess.”

“Mm, but if you need anything…I really do mean it, Keith. And make sure you get some rest, too.”

Keith laughed, tilting his head in the most adorable way. “Yes, yes, Shiro. I get it. And I appreciate it.”

What Shiro had planned to do was pout a little, and say that the nagging was for Keith’s own good. Then they’d hug quickly like they usually did, and he’d be on his way.

But Keith moved in slowly, looking up at Shiro’s eyes. _He’s close enough to kiss_ …

Then Keith wrapped his arm tightly around Shiro’s waist, and rested his head against his chest. And stayed there.

Not a kiss. But almost just as good, and Shiro wondered if Keith couldn’t hear how his heart was thudding in his chest.

“Thank you.” Keith’s voice was quiet and beautiful, muffled slightly against Shiro’s suit.

Slowly, giving Keith the time to turn away, Shiro wrapped an arm around his shoulder. Pressed his cheek to Keith’s hair. _I wish we could stay forever_.

“You’re welcome.”

Shiro carried the moment, the feeling of Keith’s solid warmth pressed up so gently against him, with him for the rest of the day.

* * *

When Shiro saw him the next week, Keith seemed to manage all right, appearing at the coffee shop in the mornings as per usual. He still looked tired, and Shiro got increasingly worried about the bags under his eyes, but whenever he tentatively brought it up, Keith would just smile and wave him off with an empty reassurance.

“Just busy,” Keith kept telling him. And it wasn’t that Shiro didn’t believe him, he just wished he could save him from every pressure he might ever have.

When Friday rolled around and Keith once again didn’t turn up, Shiro collected Keith’s beverage like he had the last time, and tried to bury his anxiety as he walked to the flower shop, like he had the last time. He hadn’t had any need to worry when it had happened before. There was no need to worry now.

Although he tried to tell himself that, it didn’t stop him worrying.

The worry only doubled when he turned the corner to arrive at the flower shop, and saw that the shop was closed.

Which was fine. Maybe Keith had finally decided to take the day _off_ , like he should have ages ago. Maybe Keith was just having a break.

Shiro almost turned away, with two coffees in hand and a stomach full of fear, but he glanced inside one last time. And on the counter, just visible through the tinted glass if Shiro squinted, was Keith’s bag.

Was Keith still inside? If he was, then where was he? Why was the shop still closed?

Shiro _wanted_ to dart around the corner to where he knew the back entrance was to the shop, but he was still holding two coffee cups full to the brim. So he had to settle for a brisk walk around to the alley that ran beside the shop, heading to where he knew the back door was for deliveries. Maybe Keith had just stepped out. Maybe Keith was on his way to meet _Shiro_ , in which case this was going to have been an extremely disappointing trip.

But when Shiro turned the door handle after awkwardly rearranging his coffees to free up a hand, it opened easily. Unlocked, which meant that Keith had to have come in to unlock it.

“Keith?” he called immediately, worry building high in his throat. “It’s Shiro. Are you in?”

Silence.

Oh god, what if Keith had collapsed? Shiro set the coffee cups down on the floor, darting inside, past a tiny wash room, and into what looked like a storage area. The lights were on, indicating that Keith should be somewhere, but where?

“Keith? Keith, are you in?”

Still silence.

Then a sniffle, and a cough.

Heart racing, Shiro rounded the counter top, looking around desperately, before his gaze dropped to the floor.

Keith. Lying on the floor.

Shiro felt his heart stop, but this time it was a far different feeling from the usual heart palpitations he got when he saw Keith. He fell to his knees immediately, reaching for his friend.

“Keith,” he breathed. “Oh my god, are you all right?”

Keith looked up at him, blinking absently. “Shiro…?”

“Keith, what happened?”

“Nothin’ happened. Was just havin’ a nap.” Keith scowled at the middle distance, pushing himself to sit up. “Just wanted a break.”

“On the floor?”

“Yeah, it’s comfortable. And cold.”

Suspicious, Shiro pressed his hand against Keith’s forehead, heart galloping. “You’re warm. Not too much, thank god, but you need a doctor.”

“And you’re hot,” Keith mumbled, leaning into Shiro’s hand. Which didn’t make any sense, and Shiro put it down to either to Keith’s illness-affected diction, or Shiro’s own stress-affected hearing.

“You need a doctor,” he repeated, ignoring Keith’s words.

Keith shook his head, wincing at the motion. “I gotta—the shop.” He coughed again, blinking blearily.

“I’ll lock up.”

“I had to look after it while Hunk—”

“No,” Shiro said firmly. Could Keith walk, or would Shiro have to carry him? “You’re not doing anything right now. If it makes it better, I’ll buy all the flowers you would’ve sold.”

Keith stared glassy-eyed at Shiro, and was silent for so long that Shiro started to worry again. But just as he was about to ask if Keith was all right, Keith spoke.

“Wouldn’t mind flowers from you.” The same raspy murmur, and that was the second time that Keith said something which both didn’t make sense and made Shiro’s heart flutter from something other than overwhelming worry.

“You’re delirious right now,” Shiro muttered. “Can you walk?”

Keith shook his head, but tried to get to his feet anyway.

Shiro spluttered, grabbing his arm to stop his shaky progress. “You just shook your head, don’t try to stand!”

“No, I meant—‘m not delirious.”

“I also don’t trust you to walk without keeling over.” Keith probably wasn’t the best judgment of things right now, so Shiro stood with him, keeping one arm firmly around his waist. “Here, just hang on.”

Keith coughed miserably. “You smell nice.”

“You need to stop saying weird things,” Shiro muttered, guiding Keith outside. They’d need a cab. Keith seemed steady enough on his feet, but he was still blinking owlishly, eyes unfocussed, so Shiro didn’t trust him in public transport. He didn’t even really trust him walking, so he kept his arm firm around Keith’s waist. Not that he really wanted to let go anyway.

“Not weird,” Keith insisted as they made their way outside. “It’s true.”

Shiro tried not to get ahead of himself. Keith was sick. That was pretty much the same as being drunk. “You’re being ridiculous.”

“Go on a date with me.”

It took all of Shiro’s willpower not to just drop Keith where he was and stare. “I—what?”

“Go on a date with me,” Keith repeated. “Please.”

Shiro managed not to drop Keith, but he lost the battle not to stare, gaze finally swinging down to meet Keith’s own. Keith was looking up at him, hair a mess, and looking so, so vulnerable. And Shiro wanted to give in, to let himself be drawn into falling for everything he’d wanted the past eight months that Keith was offering now. “Keith, I—“

Shiro stumbled, and Keith rocked against him too. Right. Keith wasn’t feeling well. He needed Shiro to make smart decisions. One of them was already fuzzy with sickness; it wouldn’t do either of them any good if they lost Shiro too. “We’re not doing this now. We need to get you to a doctor first—“

“Shiro, I’m not in—incapacitated.”

“No, but you are sick,” Shiro said firmly. “You’re not thinking straight.”

“I’m dying. Take pity on me.” Keith sniffed again, making it sound extra pathetic.

Despite himself, Shiro smiled, heart warming. “You’re not dying.”

“Am too,” came the stubborn reply.

“You just said you weren’t incapacitated.”

“Yeah, because I’m _dying_.”

“You’re not dying, but like I said, you’re not thinking straight.”

Some of Keith’s fire seemed to die down—which, wait, no, that wasn’t meant to happen. Shiro never wanted to see that happen. “If—if you don’t want…”

“And I’m not thinking straight either,” Shiro said quickly. He cleared his throat, brushing gently at Keith’s hair. “I haven’t been since I met you.”

Keith blinked up at him. And he still looked a little bleary, glassy-eyed from illness. Shiro couldn’t in good conscience do anything right now. “After, then?” Keith asked, the usually rasp of his voice even rougher. And maybe it was just how far gone Shiro was, that he thought it was even cuter than usual.

“After you’re better, then...”

“Oh my goodness, Keith!”

Shiro looked up, startled. Walking down the alleyway, a vision in a purple suit and silver hair, was…

“Wait, Allura?”

“Hey, Allura,” Keith rasped.

Allura seemed to finally catch sight of Shiro’s face, and blinked in surprise. “Shiro. Why are you here?”

Good question. “I—” _I’ve been infatuated with him, and didn’t meet for our usual cute coffee catch-up, and I was suffering._

“He’s rescuing me,” Keith replied helpfully, smiling dopily up at Shiro.

“I’m taking him to the doctor,” Shiro clarified in the face of Allura’s confused expression. “I found him sleeping on the floor in a haze.”

“I was just taking a _break_.”

“Don’t you have a meeting this morning?” Allura asked Shiro, ignoring Keith’s protests.

“Yeah, but…” _He’s more important_.

“I’ll take him,” she said. “I took a half day off to make sure he was okay. Hunk asked me to check.”

Keith looked between the two of them in growing confusion. “Why d’you know about Shiro’s meetings?”

“We work together,” Shiro explained, sighing. He didn’t know how Keith and Allura were friends either, but that could wait. He wanted to make sure Keith was okay, but it was a meeting that _he_ was supposed to be running, so… “You’ll be all right with Allura?”

“He will be fine,” Allura said. “We’ll find a taxi for the two of us, and you can be on your way.”

“Okay…” Reluctantly, Shiro let Allura take over, watching as she slid an arm around Keith’s waist. He really didn’t want to let go, but…

“You’ll take care of him?”

If Allura had been the type to roll her eyes, she would have rolled her eyes. “Yes, Shiro,” she said firmly, although her eyes twinkled with something that was far too knowing. “We will both be fine. Now go to work. I’ll send you a message when he’s safely home.”

“But the shop…” Keith still protested.

“Will survive for a handful of days.” In her no nonsense way, she supported Keith to the sidewalk, waving down a cab. She opened up the door, shuffling Keith in gently.

Keith glanced back at Shiro once more before he was herded inside. “Bye, Shiro.”

Shiro waved helplessly. “I—bye.” _Be safe. Take care. I’d love to go on a date some time._

As Allura shuffled into the car, Shiro caught her remark to Keith, “so _Shiro’s_ your morning miracle boy?”

Shiro didn’t hear the reply, just watched longingly when she shut the door, and the car sped away.

* * *

In the end, Shiro might as well not have gone to the meeting, or to work at all for that matter. The day went by in a haze, with Shiro still distracted by worry, but also by Keith’s weird confession.

_Go on a date with me. Please._

Texting Allura periodically had yielded nothing other than, _I’ve taken him home, he will be fine. Stop worrying_.

But Shiro worried, and fretted, particularly when she sent another message saying that she wouldn’t come in the afternoon after all because she didn’t want to leave Keith alone.

_Do you need me to come by?_

The long, long silence which followed had him sweating. But eventually, a reply came.

 _He wants you to. Come by after work_.

And underneath that, an address.

After that, the rest of Shiro’s day was a lost cause. Things were moving way too quickly for him—earlier this morning, he hadn’t even gathered up the courage to ask Keith out, and now they were in this weird, in between space on the spectrum of friendship to relationship, and he was going to _visit_. What should he where? Should he bring something? Probably yes. In that case, what was appropriate? It wasn’t like it was a housewarming; Shiro couldn’t bring crockery or odd decorations. And was this a date? Surely not—not when Keith was still delirious with random illness.

Inspiration only struck him when he rushed out of the office, and past the various stalls set up along the streets just outside the building. There were a further twenty minutes spent agonising over colours and choices, and whether or not spending seventy dollars came on far too strong. Deciding that it didn’t—and that Keith deserved it anyway—Shiro hurried away, navigating his way to Keith’s apartment building.

When he buzzed the intercom to the apartment, he was slightly disappointed to hear Allura’s voice greeting him.

“Come right up,” she said cheerfully.

“Thanks, Allura.” Shiro tried to keep his voice calm. Allura would already be grilling him later; no point giving her any head start.

Though when she opened the door to greet him, the look in her eye told her that she might not be grilling him later anyway. She already knew everything.

“That’s a beautiful gift,” she remarked, giving him a quick hug.

Shiro shuffled his feet. “I—I don’t know if it’s...I mean, he does work—”

“He’ll love it,” she was quick to assure him. “I think it’s the fact that it is from you, more than anything.”

Shiro’s heart skipped a beat, and he looked up at Allura hopefully. “You think so?”

The smile she sent him was soft. “I do. I’ve known Keith since university.” The softness quickly turned to mischief. “And I’ve never seen him talk so much about someone.”

Shiro blinked, before he looked away again. “Ah. Right.”

“Or _you_ talk so much about someone. It was torture not being able to get a name out of you, and now I find it’s one of my university friends. Have you really been that oblivious to how he feels about you all this time?”

“Is he through there?” Shiro asked quickly, gesturing down the hallway to avoid any further questions.

Allura laughed; she knew exactly what he was doing. “Yes. I’m sure he’d love to see you.”

 _At least I’m not the only one_. “Thanks, Allura.”

Hesitantly, Shiro headed down the hallway. He assumed Keith’s room was the one with light spilling out of it, and when he peeked around the doorway, his suspicions were confirmed. “Hey?”

Keith lay in bed, scrolling away on his phone and looking bored, but when he saw Shiro, he seemed to perk up immediately. “Hey, Shiro.” He sat up slowly, a smile spreading across his face. “You came.”

“I did.” Shiro entered the room, tentatively holding his gift. The horrible thought still ran through his head that it had been too presumptuous, too silly a thing to do, but he gritted his teeth and tried to smile. “Ah…I brought you this.”

He went to set it down on Keith’s bedside table, but then discovered he couldn’t, not with the multitude of medicines and cups of water littered across it. Anxiety starting to build—he couldn’t just hold the damn thing forever—Shiro looked around for a place to set it down.

But then he caught Keith’s gaze, and the expression on his face, and all his fears evaporated.

Keith looked stunned, eyes wide. “You brought me flowers.”

Shiro swallowed, and he sat down on the bed. “Yeah. I—seems that way.”

Slowly, Keith smiled, and it was like the first sliver of sunlight in the calm after a raging storm. “Shiro…you brought me flowers.” He held out his arms, and Shiro gently deposited the bouquet in his arms.

Keith laughed. “No, I wanted a hug. Though the flowers are nice too.”

Shiro felt his ears burn. “Oh. Right.”

Carefully, he set the flowers aside, and every worry, every strung up nerve that had plagued him throughout the day settled when he wrapped his arms around Keith, tucking his face against the warmth of Keith’s neck.

“Thank you for bringing me flowers,” Keith said, voice muffled against Shiro’s skin.

“You’re welcome.”

“Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah.” Keith hummed. “Told you it wasn’t that bad in the first place.”

“Keith, I found you sleeping on the floor.”

“I was _fine_.” Keith sighed, snuggling closer to Shiro. And although this was the most contact they’d ever gotten and Shiro’s heart was beating right out of his chest, the silence that filled the room was comfortable. Peaceful.

Eventually, though, Keith spoke. “So how about that date?” he asked quietly. And his voice sounded so open, and so vulnerable, that Shiro just wanted to protect him forever. That Shiro hoped Keith would _let_ him protect him forever.

“You’re still delirious with sickness,” he chided gently, eyes roaming over the various movie posters adorning Keith’s walls.

“Nuh uh. I’m fine, I promise. And it’s not something I hadn’t wanted to say to you anyway.” Keith sniffed, shifting back to look up at Shiro. His eyes were honest, and hopeful, and Shiro wanted to feel that hope with him.

And sure, Keith’s eyes were also a little watery and his nose a little red. But he didn’t _look_ like he was delirious with fever. Maybe…

Maybe it was time to stop second-guessing. Maybe it was time to stop making excuses.

Maybe it was time to take a chance.

Taking a deep breath, Shiro gently kissed Keith’s temple. “I’d like that.”

Keith started to grin wildly, and Shiro’s heart sang with the same abandon. “Yeah? You would?”

Keith was so warm, so gentle against him, and holding him felt like coming home. Although his new…boyfriend, partner ( _love_ , his heart sang) was wrapped up in blankets and confined to bed rest for however long, Shiro knew what his answer was. Knew what it would be, for as long as Keith wanted him.

“There’s nothing I’d like to do more.”

 _Nothing I’d like to do more, than spend every moment with you_.

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, please consider sharing it on [Tumblr](http://shiroganedefencesquad.tumblr.com/post/173175366824/hearts-in-full-bloom-pairing-shirokeith-words) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/starchydreams/status/987859503856037888)!


End file.
